This application relates generally to communications equipment. In particular, the invention is related to thermal management of base stations.
Base stations are transmission and reception stations for handling cellular traffic. Base stations may be fixed or mobile. In the communications fields, there are many kinds of base stations, including Base Transceiver Stations (BTS's), Cellular Base Stations, 3G Mobile Base Stations, 3G Base Stations, Wireless Network Base Stations, Basestations, Fixed Cellular Base Stations, UMTS Base Stations, Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) Base Stations, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) Base Stations, Radio Base Stations, and others. A base station handles transmission and reception of wireless traffic for a geographic area, and multiple base stations within the geographic area form a wireless network. Along with voice services, data services such as Short Message Service (SMS), e-mail, and Internet browsing may be provided by the base station to mobile devices.
Of particular importance with base stations is reliability. Base stations often have to run 24 hours a day, even in severe weather. Moreover, in operation, base station circuitry generates heat, which must be managed to ensure the base station performs properly. In addition, base stations may have a limited amount of power available for consumption, or it may be desirable to operate the device efficiently.
It is possible to construct a base station unit for use in cold areas. However, base station circuitry that is capable of “cold start” is typically expensive. Base stations that are not constructed using a “cold start” technology can be damaged by starting tip the base station when the device is cold, such as when the device has an internal temperature that is below freezing. “Cold start” technology does not ameliorate the need for thermal management at higher temperatures—a necessity to ensure that the base station is not degraded by excess heat buildup.